


Skeletons come to life in my closet

by Tovarich



Series: Good Omens Celebration 2020 [8]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Aromantic Character, Coming Out, Good Omens Celebration 2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24083038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tovarich/pseuds/Tovarich
Summary: "They simply don't understand. For them, I just haven't found the right person yet, or I'm confused about my sexual orientation or something…"Crowley raised an eyebrow, resting his chin on his palm. "What is so hard to understand about this, though?" Humans… He loved them, he had loved them since the Beginning, but sometimes they exhausted him. They needed to create all those categories that you had to nicely fit in, they created concepts and then forgot they were only constructs and treated them as natural things. They really had a tendency to make everything quite complicated.Emma went to visit her family in Bordeaux and came out to them as aromantic. When she comes back, she has a conversation about it with Aziraphale and Crowley.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Good Omens Celebration 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727137
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31
Collections: Good Omens Celebration





	Skeletons come to life in my closet

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for the 8th day of the Good Omens Celebration was "Family". This was inspired by some of the reactions I had when I came out as aromantic to some people.
> 
> The title comes from the song "Coming Clean" by Green Day

"How are all your cakes so delicious?" Emma asked, looking Aziraphale with her green eyes glowing with delight.

"It's because he's an angel," Crowley replied, draping one arm over Aziraphale's shoulders.

"Oh, do all angels bake good cakes, then?" She was new to the whole angels and demons thing, and she was curious about it. She had a lot of questions, but she preferred to only ask a few here and there, so as not to bore her friends.

Aziraphale snorted, "Most angels don't even know what cake is supposed to taste like. Eating isn't overly popular among ethereal beings."

"Oh, well, it's good that you are, because I brought presents!" She bent down to take the paper bad at her feet and took out a box of home-made canelés from her favourite bakery in Bordeaux and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Aziraphale opened the box and gave a little wiggle of pleasure at the rich smell of the pastry. He couldn't wait to taste them later! Admittedly, Crowley was more interested in the wine, which was a great vintage. Those were fine things meant to be savoured, and for a hedonist like Aziraphale, it meant it was perfect. And even though Crowley wouldn't admit it, he enjoyed slowly drinking his wine too, letting all the different aromas invade his mouth, appreciating the after taste before taking the next sip. 

"You went to see your family! How did it go?" Aziraphale asked. He always loved to hear people recount their holidays and family reunions, especially if they had been happy.

"I finally came out to them, it was time," she shrugged. She suddenly didn't look as happy as before and Aziraphale almost felt guilty for bringing it up.

"Didn't go too well, I presume," Crowley said. It wasn't really a question, but it still required an answer.

"It could have gone a lot worse, but I suppose it could have gone a little bit better too."

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear girl. Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma shrugged again, she started playing with a strand of brown hair as she debated whether she wanted to talk about this or not. She felt rather silly at how she reacted, a lot of people faced far worse reactions to their coming out, and there she was that her family simply hadn't been as acceptant as she had hoped. But this was Aziraphale and Crowley, she could talk to them without worrying about any form of judgement from them. She bit the inside of her cheek, staying silent a bit longer, just long enough that Aziraphale was starting to think about another topic they could speak about.

"It's just… It's a bit funny you know," she started, her voice wavering slightly, "when I came out to them as a lesbian six years ago, they both took it very well. But I say that I'm not interested in being in a romantic relationship, and suddenly it's a tragedy."

Aziraphale placed a hand on the young woman's wrist, "they weren't mean to you, though, were they?"

"Not purposefully, I don't think so. They simply don't understand. For them, I just haven't found the right person yet, or I'm confused about my sexual orientation or something… They just don't think it's possible for someone not to feel romantic attraction, or not to want to be in that kind of relationship."

Crowley raised an eyebrow, resting his chin on his palm. "What is so hard to understand about this, though?" Humans… He loved them, he had loved them since the Beginning, but sometimes they exhausted him. They needed to create all those categories that you had to nicely fit in, they created concepts and then forgot they were only constructs and treated them as natural things. They really had a tendency to make everything quite complicated.

"I don't know. My mum told me 'You're not a stone, Emma, you have feelings! You can't spend your whole life without any meaningful relationship, without anyone there by your side!' As if a relationship absolutely had to be romantic to be meaningful in any way." She laughed mirthlessly, tugging on the strand of hair she was playing with. "I almost feel bad for her, honestly. Because, what does that say about the relationship she has with all those friends of hers if they're not meaningful or fulfilling?"

Emma hadn't talked about this to anyone else before, she didn't feel legitimate to complain about her parents' reaction, when it objectively wasn't that bad. Except that for her, it was bad. Her parents had always been tolerant and open-minded, they had never judged her for anything she ever did, always encouraged her to do what made her happy. But they couldn't understand that their daughter simply didn't need or want to be romantically involved with someone else. They didn't understand that the close friends she had were enough and that even if she wanted a committed relationship with someone, it didn't have to be romantic. They hadn't listened to her.

"Maybe they just need some time to get their heads around it?" Aziraphale offered. He wasn't sure if he believed that himself, but it wasn't completely impossible. It was likely that her parents had never heard about aromanticism and were simply confused about this. Though it could also be that they would never understand how Emma felt.

"Hmph, they don't need to understand it to accept it, though," Crowley started, staring at her intensely through his sunglasses. "That’s how you feel and they won't change you, so if they love you, and from what you've told us about them, they do, they'll accept this. Just don't let them convince you that you should feel differently about romance, that you're broken. Show them that you don't need romance to be happy or complete or whatever."

Emma really wished she could be that brave, brave enough not to care what other thought of her, to made them change their opinions. She wished she was as strong as Crowley thought she was. But she wasn't. Of course, her parents' words wouldn't change who she was or how she felt, but it didn't she would manage to just let it slide over her without affecting her.

"My sister said she would talk to them, try making them understand that there was nothing wrong with me. But sometimes, even I think there must be something wrong with me… Everyone around me seems to think romance is the most amazing thing in the world, they're all frantically looking for the right person to share their life with. And I just don't feel the same."

Aziraphale hated how sad and defeated his young human friend looked. "Dear girl, there's nothing wrong with you. It's perfectly alright not to feel the same as the majority of people feels. There are many forms of love in the world and they're all perfect and beautiful in their own right. Not one of them is better than any other, they're just different. Your feelings are different, the kind of love you feel for people is different from what most people feel, but it doesn't make it better or less good."

Oh, and for some reason, those were the words she needed to hear. She was different, she wanted other kinds of relationships, but it didn't mean she felt less love than anyone else. She simply loved differently. Distantly, she thought that maybe, if Aziraphale talked to her parents, he might be able to make them things differently, to find the right words. But she trusted her sister with that, she was a law student and Emma had no doubt the young woman would win her first case. Of course, it didn't make everything perfect, but it made it a lot better, and it was more than enough.


End file.
